Gates On Burr Ridge Streets? Issue Keeps Coming Up

BURR RIDGE, IL – In many towns, the idea of gates on public streets would likely be scoffed at.

That's not the case in Burr Ridge, one of the state's wealthiest communities.

The village already has a gate on a street that connects the Arrowhead Farm and Highlands subdivisions.

That gate's purpose, the village says in documents, was to reduce cut-through traffic in either direction. When the gate is in operation, only public vehicles, including buses, can get through.

A few years ago, the Village Board voted 4-2 to allow the small Pinecrest Court subdivision off Plainfield Road to put up a gate. But a gate was never installed.

Now, the Chasemoor homeowners association is asking for a single-arm automatic gate at the north entrance of Chasemoor Drive.

The gate would be used to stop southbound traffic between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays. It would be otherwise open.

The association has offered to pay for the gate. According to a village memo, the group says it does not want to privatize the street or assume the responsibilities of maintaining it.

A year ago, the board unanimously agreed to change traffic patterns in the Chasemoor neighborhood, where an estimated 500 people live.

With its decision, the village prohibited northbound traffic on Chasemoor Drive between 79th Street and Lincolnshire Drive from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. on weekdays.

From 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, southbound traffic was barred on Chasemoor between Lincolnshire or the Pace bus commuter parking lot and 79th.

The goal was to reduce cut-through traffic during rush hour to Village Center, County Line Square and other commercial developments.

According to the memo, the changes resulted in a 70 percent reduction in northbound traffic during the morning rush hour and a 55 percent cut in southbound traffic during the evening commute.

On Monday, the Village Board is set to review the association's gate request.

For years, one of the village's trustees, Guy Franzese, has spoken out against gates. In a 2019 session, he said, "I think they create isolationism in the village. We are trying to keep connectivity with our pathways."

Last year, the Hinsdale Village Board approved a gate for a subdivision near Hinsdale Central High School.

The subdivision wanted to shut the gate after school and during school events because students often use the neighborhood to turn around or park.

During a vote earlier in 2023, Hinsdale Trustee Scott Banke had a philosophical objection to a gate in another subdivision. He said gates add to the "negative perception of Hinsdale as an elitist town."

"I think we need to be wary of adding another line item to this negative perception," he said.

The other trustees supported the gate.